Denver Broncos / NFL

The Post's Jeff Legwold grades the NFL draft

Broncos come out looking good

Despite claiming Auburn quarterback Cam Newton with the No. 1 overall pick, the Carolina Panthers earned a C-minus with the rest of their picks, in part because of a "reach" on cornerback Brandon Hogan.
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The Broncos, after surveying what they accomplished in the three-day NFL draft, may have spoken for the entire league after the last pick was made Saturday night.

"When it's over, you usually feel good about what you did, but you don't know yet what the real impact will be until you get them on the field," Broncos coach John Fox said. "But we weren't going to fill all of our needs with one draft. We've still got work to do."

That they do. But with final grades still a few seasons down the road, here is how things graded out this weekend:

AFC

West

Broncos — B

Picks made: 9

Best pick: Von Miller, LB, Texas A&M (first round). The best pass rusher on the board goes to the defense that needed him most.

Bottom line: Made seven of nine picks at linebacker, tight end and safety, but stuck to their board and didn't reach too far to get what they wanted.

Kansas City Chiefs — C-

Picks made: 9

Best pick: Ricky Stanzi, QB, Iowa (fifth round).

Bottom line: Strong work in third, fourth and fifth rounds, but drifted from their philosophy early with two character risks, including Georgia linebacker Justin Houston.

Oakland Raiders — C

Picks made: 8

Best pick: Chimdi Chekwa, CB, Ohio State (fourth round). Dislocated wrist in final college game or would have been taken earlier.

Bottom line: Did not have a first-round pick, and although they didn't reach as often as in the past, they couldn't resist at times, especially with CB DeMarcus Van Dyke (Miami).

San Diego Chargers — B-

Picks made: 8

Best pick: Corey Liuget, DT, Illinois (first round). He'll move to end in the team's scheme and will produce from the start because of his strength and quickness.

The Grading Scale

AExceptional. Got the best value with their picks while securing impact players.

BQuality weekend. Found some impact and didn't reach.

CPlayed par. No fireworks, found some potential production.

DTrailing the pack. Dumped too many picks and reached too often with the ones they had.

Bottom line: Leaned to defense, but LB Jonas Mouton of Michigan was a significant reach — he fits the scheme, but a linebacker with 4.94 speed will simply have a difficult time in the league.

East

Buffalo Bills — A-

Picks made: 9

Best pick: Da'Norris Searcy, S, North Carolina (fourth round). They did well with Marcell Dareus in the first round, but Searcy should produce well beyond his draft slot.

Bottom line: League's worst run defense in 2010 addressed defense with the first four picks and seven overall. They got value with virtually every pick.

Miami Dolphins — C-

Picks made: 6

Best pick: Daniel Thomas, RB, Kansas State (second round). A big back at 230 pounds, who was durable as a collegiate runner and fits the Dolphins' offense.

Bottom line: Traded too many picks to significantly address their needs and did not dive into the quarterback pool.

New England Patriots — B+

Picks made: 9

Best pick: Nate Solder, T, Colorado (first round). Solder gets a patient team that has traditionally schooled its linemen well.

Bottom line: Bill Belichick dealt his way to an extra first-round pick in next year's draft while also taking a player he'll have to wait on in T Marcus Cannon and huge risk in QB Ryan Mallett.

New York Jets — C-

Picks made: 6

Best pick: Muhammad Wilkerson, DT, Temple (first round). High-quality athlete who will move to end in team's 3-4 look.

Bottom line: Didn't have much to work with and still took a risk on DT Kenrick Ellis of Hampton in the third and reached some in the fourth as well on RB Bilal Powell of Louisville.

North

Bottom line: Had a trade glitch with the Bears that cost them a draft spot and took a risk with Colorado CB Jimmy Smith in the first round, but overall, another quality trek through the selection weekend.

Cincinnati Bengals — A-

Picks made: 8

Best pick: A.J. Green, WR, Georgia (first round). They grabbed a gifted receiver who several teams believed was easily one of the top three players overall.

Bottom line: Did a nice job covering themselves if Carson Palmer follows through on his threat to retire by picking QB Andy Dalton of TCU. Many believe he will be a quality pro.

Cleveland Browns — C+

Picks made: 8

Best pick: Greg Little, WR, North Carolina (second round). Also started at RB. He is a 231-pound receiver with legitimate 4.5 speed.

Bottom line: When you trade out of the No. 6 spot, you're going for quantity over quality. They took character risks on the first two picks and a developmental tight end.

Pittsburgh Steelers — B+

Picks made: 7

Best pick: Cameron Heyward, DT/DE, Ohio State (first round). A nice blend of value and need with the pick, since Heyward was cleared medically (elbow) and fits this defense.

Bottom line: They stuck to the plan. They take big, physical players from top-tier programs early and stick to the board from top to bottom.

South

Houston Texans — B

Picks made: 8

Best pick: J.J. Watt, DT/DE, Wisconsin (first round). Should move to end and flourish in Wade Phillips' 3-4 scheme.

Bottom line: They committed to defense with six picks. OLB Brooks Reed should contribute early, as should Idaho S Shiloh Keo, who was one of the best special-teams players on the board.

Indianapolis Colts — B

Picks made: 5

Best pick: Anthony Castonzo, T, Boston College (first round). A 54-game starter who will be in the lineup as soon as his name hits the dotted line on a contract.

Bottom line: GM Bill Polian didn't have much capital with so few picks, but he addressed offensive line early, and fourth-round pick Delone Carter (RB) was a savvy third-day selection.

\

Jacksonville Jaguars — C+

Picks made: 5

Best pick: Blaine Gabbert, QB, Missouri. Take the best player available, no exceptions, and the Jaguars traded to do just that.

Bottom line: Bold at the top but had no picks in the second, sixth or seventh rounds. Also did not take a defensive player until the fourth round.

Tennessee Titans — B+

Picks made: 9

Best pick: Jurrell Casey, DT, USC (third round). Won't be true if QB Jake Locker is the real deal, but Casey fits this defense and will contribute early.

Bottom line: Big-time quality on first two days with Locker, LB Akeem Ayers, Casey and LB Colin McCarthy. The team will allow Locker time to succeed — just as it did with Steve McNair.

NFC

West

Arizona Cardinals — B

Picks made: 8

Best pick: Patrick Peterson, CB, LSU (first round). They got the top player on the board with the No. 5 pick.

Bottom line: Still have QB questions but had a quality, no-frills weekend with the draft board that was in front of them.

St. Louis Rams — C

Picks made: 8

Best pick: Robert Quinn, DE/OLB, North Carolina (first round). Certainly a medical question but also an elite rush prospect they got with 14th pick.

Bottom line: Went for production over jaw-dropping speed with their two WR picks (Austin Pettis and Greg Salas) and again at TE in Lance Kendricks.

San Francisco 49ers — C

Picks made: 10

Best pick: Colin Kaepernick, QB, Nevada (second round). Jim Harbaugh understands how to develop a QB with an offense that can run the ball.

Bottom line: At just 20 years old, there is some concern the 264-pound Aldon Smith, their No. 1 pick, will outgrow where the 49ers want to play him in their 3-4 look.

Seattle Seahawks — C-

Picks made: 9

Best pick: Kris Durham, WR, Georgia (fourth round). May have reached some on a player with some medical concerns, but he ran a 4.43 at 214 pounds in workouts.

Bottom line: They reached plenty at No. 1 in T James Carpenter and kept that trend at several other spots on the board.

East

Dallas Cowboys — B

Picks made: 8

Best pick: Tyron Smith, T, USC (first round). Team had glaring needs in the offensive line, and Smith should be in the lineup when the season opens.

Bottom line: Took some risk with second-round LB Bruce Carter, who has opening-round talent but is coming off ACL surgery. East Carolina WR Dwayne Harris was a good get on Day 3.

New York Giants — A

Picks made: 8

Best pick: Prince Amukamara, CB, Nebraska (first round). They took a top-10 player on virtually every board in the league at No. 19. That's value.

Bottom line: Played their board with patience and had consistent value from top to bottom, including Iowa S Tyler Sash in the sixth round and Maryland RB Da'Rel Scott in the seventh.

Philadelphia Eagles — C+

Picks made: 11

Best pick: Danny Watkins, G/T, Baylor (first round). If you take a 26-year-old prospect, he has to play right away, and Watkins will, nasty streak and all.

Bottom line: Had the second-most selections and did well throughout for the most part, but also went where few teams go, using a fourth-round pick on a kicker and a seventh on a fullback.

Washington Redskins — B

Picks made: 12

Best pick: Jarvis Jenkins, DT, Clemson (second round). Taking him should help No. 1 pick Ryan Kerrigan in his transition to a 3-4 scheme.

Bottom line: After years of the franchise thumbing its nose at the draft, Mike Shanahan did all he could to add as many players as possible — sixth-round RB Evan Royster will be worth keeping an eye on in this system.

North

Bottom line: They used their seventh-rounder in the supplemental draft, so they didn't have much to work with overall without a fourth-rounder.

Detroit Lions — B+

Picks made: 5

Best pick: Nick Fairley, DT, Auburn (first round). Please repeat, "Take the best player available . . ." even if you have to line him up next to Ndamukong Suh. Oh, wait. That's a great thing.

Bottom line: No picks in the third, fourth or sixth rounds, but they smacked line drives with first three picks of Fairley, WR Titus Young and RB Mikel Leshoure.

Green Bay Packers — B+

Picks made: 10

Best pick: Randall Cobb, WR, Kentucky (second round). Cobb is a do-it-all guy who scored TDs rushing, passing, receiving and in the return game in college.

Bottom line: What may be the league's deepest team once again is solid top to bottom on draft weekend, even with their last pick — seventh- round DT Lawrence Guy, who was far higher on many boards.

Minnesota Vikings — C

Picks made: 10

Best pick: Brandon Burton, CB, Utah (fifth round). He should have gone higher given his size and ability in man coverage.

Bottom line: Took some chances on Days 2 and 3, most notably on Iowa DT Christian Ballard, who teams said failed a drug test at the scouting combine.

South

Atlanta Falcons — C

Picks made: 6

Best pick: Akeem Dent, LB, Georgia. He led his team in tackles in nine games last season and was likely undervalued overall on this board (guilty here as well).

Bottom line: A big trade will make or break this draft. The point value of their swap with the Browns to move to No. 6 for WR Julio Jones is only remotely close to being even if they win the Super Bowl and have the No. 32 pick in the 2012 draft.

Carolina Panthers — C-

Picks made: 8

Best pick: Sione Fua, DT, Stanford (third round). He is a smart, power player going to a team that could certainly use one.

Bottom line: If QB Cam Newton comes through, few will remember what else went on with this draft board, but fourth-rounder Brandon Hogan of West Virginia is a huge reach, one of the biggest in the draft.

New Orleans Saints — C-

Picks made: 6

Best pick: Mark Ingram, RB, Alabama (first round). They surrendered their 2012 first-rounder to do it, but Drew Brees may finally have the runner he needs for another trophy.

Bottom line: No picks in the fourth, fifth and sixth rounds and took a flier on Pitt DE Greg Romeus in seventh — he tore his right ACL in 2010 and had back surgery.

Bottom line: Solid overall, but first two picks were players with medical concerns — DE Adrian Clayborn has a nerve condition that causes numbness in his arm, and DE Da'Quan Bowers (knee) was one of the biggest injury questions in draft.

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